Saying Goodbye

Yes, I will always remember January 7th as a pretty emotionally exhausting day…Brent resigned from NorthWood and our kids literally melted down about the idea of moving.

By the time we got the kids calm enough to go to bed, Brent and I were completely worn out, and I’ll be honest, I was more than a little bit depressed. I didn’t know how to support Brent, comfort my kids, get the house ready to put on the market, move across the country, and not have a breakdown myself. So that night as I prayed for the kids and for the move, the Lord really impressed on my heart the need for them, and me, to be able to say goodbye well. The need for us all to feel like everything we treasured was said goodbye to so we would feel the freedom to embrace what God had for us in the future.

And so the whirlwind began. In 2.5 weeks, we packed up the house, sold the house, went to every favorite location, had a million play dates, and said good bye as well as we possibly could. It was exhausting and perfect all at the same time.

When January 27th finally arrived, the kids were ready, I was ready, and Brent was ready. We had mourned all we would miss and now had an excitement for the adventure that laid before us. Although I won’t lie, that last morning at NorthWood was HARD!! I cried for 4 hours (as you’ll see in the pictures). My eyes were swollen but my heart was so full. Our time spent in Keller was fulfilling and life changing, and the people and experiences there have forever shaped us and made us better people.

But by the time we said good bye that last Sunday morning, I was ready. I was ready for what God was calling us to do. I was ready to move my family across the country. I was ready for an adventure. I was ready for change.

And not only was I ready, I was excited. The type of excitement that only comes from our gracious Father who lead me down the much needed path of mourning what would be missed so I would be excited for what laid ahead.

So here is a short slideshow of our last couple weeks as we said good bye.

This made me cry… Your impact here was incredible. You have forever changed my life and I am so grateful for that. I can’t believe you are so far away now but…If I get a craving for snow I might have to come see you in Iowa 😉